Download The Sahara & North Africa

The Sahara & North Africa
A fertile,
watered area
in the midst
of a desert.
This is where
most of the
people of the
desert live.
Nile River and
Suez Canal
Plenty of rain in the early ’60’s prompted farmers to increase cattle herds. From the
late 1960’s to 1980’s drought devastated this area. Overgrazing and removal of
trees for housing and firewood has laid the ground bare. Planting trees and grass
keeps the topsoil in place and slows the encroaching desert.
From the Atlantic to the mountains of Ethiopia, the Sahel stretches for
4,300 miles. It is a ribbon of arid savanna grasslands. This semi arid
area has been plagued by drought in recent years. The word Sahel is
Arabic for “Shore” and the Sahel is the shore of the Sahara Desert. The
Sahel has moved south as the climate change has caused the desert to
expand. This is a cycle, but cutting down trees in this area is speeding
up the desertification process. PASTORAL NOMADISM – practice of
moving cattle from one area to another in arid areas. The Fulani in
Senegal and Mali, the Dinka in Sudan and the Samburu of Kenya are all
pastoral nomads. To improve condition in the Sahel, farmers place rocks
along contour lines in order to hold back the soil when it rains. The rocks
work like a dam – stopping the top soil from washing away. The Niger
River delta is used to grow cash crops. The production of food has
declined in the last 20 years because land is being used to grow crops for
sale.
The spread of desert like
conditions into semi-arid areas.
Form of agriculture where farmers plant crops in cleared areas and then
abandon the fields when they become infertile, and search for better land
Agriculture performed in one location where fertile soils and reliable
rainfall can support it.
practice of moving cattle from one area to another in arid areas
When the top layer (topsoil) is washed or blown away. This is usually caused
by cutting down trees that protect the ground or by overgrazing which
removes the grass that holds the soil in place. Farmers place rocks along
contour lines so that when it rains, the rocks work like a dam and hold the
water and the topsoil in place.
Subsistence economies take large amounts of land
and benefit only a few people. 80% of Africans are
farmers or herders. When problems occur with the
land, the people are directly and immediately
impacted.
Malnutrition, disease, war, and poverty as well as a hard
life of subsistence farming take a toll on the population.
A grassy woodland where crops are grown
and cattle are able to graze. Some savanna
is spotted with trees. This is the land of the
Safari.
Food production is lower in the last 20
years for 3 reasons – soil erosion,
desertification, and Africans are
growing cash crops instead of food
crops.
A deep trench formed when large sections
of the Earth’s crust drop between two
parallel cracks or faults – Where the plates
are moving away from each other.
The Great Rift Valley stretches from the
Mediterranean Sea - south along the Red Sea
and then through the Ethiopian Highlands,
Kenyan Highlands, and the Lake District.
The causes of
famine in Africa
1.Ethnic warfare
2.Civil War
3.Cash Crops
4.Soil erosion
5.Desertification
Relief efforts have been disrupted in
the Horn of Africa because of ethnic
warfare and civil war.
When the government forces farmers off of their land
and relocates them to areas that are controlled by the
government – communal farms.
Gold and
diamonds
are the
most
important
resources
in
Southern
Africa.
Why is the area at the
tip of South Africa more
productive than the
rest of Africa?
This is the only region that
has a temperate climate
and reliable water.